Surgery with music has been available in certain hospitals for many years. But it was always the exception, not the rule. In the late 20th century, and the early 21st centure, hospitals and medical schools began to take seriously all of the anecdotal reports that were being published in holistic medicine books and journals.

As the research came out, we had more and more empiracal evidence that surgery music can make significant differences in the amount of anxiety the patient experiences, the level of pain that the patients perceives, and the amount of nausea and vomiting the patient experiences, in the post-op period. These three things combine to reduce the overall time for the procedure to be performed and finally discharged from the hospital or surgery center.

By 2009 there was actually a product on the market to deliver the “scientifically-chosen, best music for surgery,” delivered through cordless headphones, which is the preferred choice for patients having surgery. The surgeon’s preferred music usually comes through a speaker in the operating room.

Now, patients have a choice of two kinds of headphones and a hospital can purchase a “Cloud Kit” that consists of 10-preprogrammed headphones, sitting on a USB hub, with a pop-up dispenser for disposable earpiece covers! The Cloud Kit is in many large hospitals around the world, as well as dental clinics.

If YOU, the patient, are having a dental surgery, root canal, extraction, or a medical procedure such as colonoscopy, cataract surgery or joint replacement, please consider getting yourself some of these amazing headphones!! Patients love them and usually end up requiring less medication, which leads to a faster and safer recovery! Just go to www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com/patient-products to purchase either headphone or the music download.

We are so enthusiastic and excited about our Surgical Serenity Music, that we offer JUST the download if you feel that you cannot afford our lightweight, high-quality cordless headphone! The download alone is only $99. The headset with music already loaded onto it, is $197.97!

We believe that the Surgical Serenity Solution is slowly revolutionizing the way the surgery is being performed. There are so many studies now, including a study on our own music and headphone (!) that there is absolutely NO doubt that music before, during and after surgery, can make a big difference in how fast and well the patient will recover. Who knew that something as simple as choosing the right music for the patient could make such a powerful improvement to surgical outcomes??

Actually, I knew that back in the early 1990’s when I began reading the medical and music medicine literature. It was quite obvious that, through the process of rhythmic entrainment, the patient’s heart-rate and breathing will begin to synchronize with the pulse of the music. This relaxes the patient and keeps them relaxed through the procedure so that less medication is needed. As a clinical musicologist, I know JUST the music to choose for the best results. Right now the music is classical piano, but we are close to having a NEW AGE playlist, a children’s playlist, and one for elderly patients!

Don’t miss out on this! You can download the music in minutes or order now for overnight delivery! Just click on the picture of the headphones!

You’ve probably just found out that you, or a loved one, needs to have have surgery. No one WANTS to have surgery, but sometimes you just can’t get better without it. You may have heard that using music during surgery can improve the outcomes; make the overall results better. This is where the Surgical Serenity Solution comes in. The Surgical Serenity Solution is a method for having the ideal slow, steady, soothing, purely instrumental music playing for the patient through cordless, lightweight headphones. They were conceived of by a clinical musicologist, with years of experience helping surgical patients choose their ideal music.

Eight years later, hundreds of people have used our method and headphones for surgeries of all kinds, and with outstanding results. Dozens of studies are out there, documenting music’s power to reduce, anxiety, amount of anesthesia needed, and pain perception afterwards. Not only that, but when you have less anesthesia and less pain medication but also have less nausea and vomiting and you go home a lot sooner.

Surgical Serenity Solutions exists to create a surgical experience that is less stressful for the patient, speed recovery, and that will improve over-all outcomes! That said, what exactly is our proprietary music all about? Well, I’ll go so far as to say that they main idea is to get rhythmic entrainment established through the use of slow, steady, soothing, music. As a concert pianist, musicologist, and therapist, I have chosen music that fits that definition, in a variety of genres. Our first playlist is still our primary playlist and it is the one we’ve sold the most of. It is a classical piano playlist and contains 23 lesser-known classical pieces that I purposely chose because of their ability to help the patient entrain, or synchronize their heart-rate, breathing, and emotional state, quickly and easily.

When patients put the headphones on for the first-time in my presence, they invariably get a smile on their face, close their eyes, and say “ahhhh…that’s beautiful!!” I purposely chose music that is not well known, because people have such strong association with music, and, just in case it’s a piece that someone might have a negative association with, I chose music that the average piano student would not have encountered.

However, it is not at all necessary to love classical music or even be familiar with it, to greatly benefit from this playlist. The only time you’ll really hear it is as you’re going to sleep (under general anesthesia) or as you’re waking up. If you have access to the headphones or to our proprietary music (we do sell JUST the music!), before your procedure, then you can practice relaxing while listening to the music, and condition your mind and body to relax as you lie down and start the music. By the time you’re ready for surgery, you will quickly relax by the end of the first piece.

Soon we will offer a New Age playlist, a jazz-style playlist, a folk-style playlist, and more. Eventually, we’ll have multiple options within each genre! There is literally no other company that offers such a powerful, yet simple solution. To buy, just click on the link www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com/buy.

When you hear someone say that music before, during and after surgery is beneficial, you assume that its a certain type of music that has been specifically chosen for surgery, right? After talking to people and working with patients and physicians and nurses about this for 25 years, I’ve heard it all!

It started out primarily with the surgeon deciding that he would be happier if HE had music playing in the OR, so he chose music that he felt would help him do a better job operating. I’ve heard of surgeon’s choosing classical, rock and roll, smooth jazz, chant, and lots more. This music usually is played through iPod speakers on a counter or shelf, or even through a boombox on the floor.

The thought was that the patient was either under general anesthesia and wouldn’t really hear it or they would be under regional anesthesia and would probably also enjoy it! Pretty “iffy” I’d say, since taste in music varies wildly. Then I came along in the late 90’s saying that even when patient was under general anesthesia, they could benefit from having their own slow, steady music, because of a process known as rhythmic entrainment.

The way this works is that our bodies respond to a nearby strong, steady beat by synchronizing with it, or entraining with it! This is a well-documented phenomenon, first noticed in the 1700’s by a Dutch physicist named Daniel Huygens. One of the things the anesthesiologist and staff do during surgery is to keep the heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure and body temperature at a resting, normal level. This can be greatly helped along by tapping into rhythmic entrainment, utilizing music with a slow, steady beat and a soothing mood.

This is the music that we have already programmed onto your Surgical Serenity headphones to achieve the Surgical Serenity Solution! A research study that came out just a couple of years ago reported that listening to music “during all three stages proved beneficial. Overall, patients who listened to music were less anxious, required less sedative medication, recovered more quickly and reported better satisfaction with their medical experience. But while some studies show that listening to classical music could yield the most positive results, the latest findings underscore the importance of taking into account patients’ musical tastes.” –

To that, I would add that when the patient is going under general anesthesia, probably classical music is best overall. Our study here at the VA Hospital utilized exclusively classical music, and although most of the men were not classical music afficianados, once they had been explained why this specific music was chosen, they were happy to give it a chance…and experienced all the benefits listed above!!

The comment below was from a blog that was citing this study above, done at the University of Kentucky by music therapists. However, it is not necessary to have a music therapist present to use our pre-programmed surgical headphones! That’s one of the money-saving benefits to hospital and patient.

I will write lots more about this in future blog posts but do let me know your thoughts and your questions! Thank you!

See more at: http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/11/20/how-music-therapy-may-benefit-surgery-patients/#comments

I had a full hysterectomy in 2005 at Stanford and my physician provided me with a cd to listen to in preparation for the surgery. The premise was to listen to the cd an follow the exercises provided along with the music. Having the music, prepared me in ways that I never would have dreamed- it actually changed my life, even to this day. There was no pre-op nervousness and before I knew it, I was in my recovery room still listening to the music. What a peaceful and relaxing way to enter something normally so stressful. My recovery was just as wonderful and I listened to the cd every night during recovery. Years later I find myself humming a few bars of the relaxation song to calm me down when I am tense. The cd has since been lost to me during several moves, but I truly wish I still had it. Music is very beneficial to the psyche and physical attributes towards preparation and healing and I will use it from now on…

– See more at: http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/11/20/how-music-therapy-may-benefit-surgery-patients/#comments

Are you having surgery? Are you scared of the pain, the anesthesia, the time off work, the side-effects of all the medications you’ll be given? These are all common, and VALID concerns. Surgery is serious business, but there are times that it really must be done to improve quality of life, to prolong life, or to enhance life.

Over the past 5 or 6 decades, surgery has become a much safer endeavor as hospital OR conditions have improved and methods of sterilization and decontamination have stepped into the 21st century. Many companies have created tools to make the patient more comfortable during the entire procedure, from warming the sheets and giving the patient fuzzy foot-cover, to lightweight headphones that deliver specially-chosen music for surgery, wirelessly and cordlessly!

Here are some of the most frequently-asked questions that I get about the benefits of music during surgery:

What are the benefits of music during surgery:

Patients using music (through cordless headphones) pre-surgery, during and after surgery, report less fear and anxiety medication before procedure, less anesthesia during surgery, and less pain medication after surgery. They also report fewer side-effects from the anesthesia, such as nausea and vomiting, and a faster return to home, work and life in general! In addition, when patient receives the music through headphones, the surgeon can have his own more upbeat music, and the patient isn’t affected by that. Also, conversations that the doctors and nurses have, that patient doesn’t want to hear, will be obscured. Finally, with Baby boomers having more and more joint replacement surgeries, patients don’t have to hear the drilling, sawing and hammering that goes on.

2. What are the drawbacks of music during surgery: absolutely none!

3. Do the headphones block all sounds in the OR?: No, the surgical headphones are intended to greatly decrease the OR noises, but during regional anesthesia and surgery, the patient can still hear questions that the doctor might need to ask.

4. Will my doctors approve of this? Most doctors do approve of the use of headphones during surgery. The surgeon and the anesthesiologist both need to give their approval. It is important to print out our free article entitled “How to Talk with Your Doctor about Using Music During Surgery.”

5. How did you choose the music on the headphones?: I have been helping patients choose their perfect music for surgery for almost 25 years. I had been reading about the benefits of music in reducing medication and calming the patient, but through my own personal research and experience, I discovered that slow, steady, soothing instrumental music, that has the tempo of the healthy, resting heartbeat is ideal. This is what get the entrainment process going, and even when the patient is under general anesthesia, the body’s heartbeat, breathing and blood pressure all tend to stabilize and synchronize with the slow, steady pulse of the music.

6. Can I continue to use them after surgery?: Yes. The headphones include a USB cable and charger so that after your surgery or other medical procedure, you can connect the headphones to your laptop and load hundreds more pieces or songs of your choice. With care, your headphones should last for many years!

It’s really exciting to see so many advances in surgery on the horizon, and although I don’t wish surgery on anyone, it definitely will be happening all day, every day, around the world. What I am most interested in is seeing that everyone has the best possible chance for a positive outcome!

Many astute and perceptive surgeons and anesthesiologists have realized for a long time that music is a powerful and effective addition to the surgical suite, but most were not sure how best to implement this idea. The idea of using lightweight, behind the neck headphones for the patient, while allowing ambient music delivery for the surgeon, is an ideal solution that will be seen more and more in 2014.

Can you imagine how helpful the soothing music headphones could be for patients undergoing any of the above procedures. And, of course, the calmer and more relaxed the patient is, the better the surgeon can do his or her job. It just makes sense to relax the patient with music before, during and after any surgical procedure with a method that has no side-effects and reduces recovery time as well as nausea and vomiting.

There has never been a better time to utilize the power of music with your surgery. For several decades now, surgeons have been playing their favorite music in the O.R. but it was assumed that if the patient was under general anesthesia, that they did not need their own music, nor were they affected by the surgeon’s music. Current research and awarenesses are rapidly changing that!

It turns out that not only IS the patient affected negatively if the surgeon choses raucous or too lively music (and yes, that does happen!) A surgical nurse locally told me that one surgeon regularly plays “Queen’s” song “Another One Bites the Dust” when he operates! I was appalled! On the other hand, surgeons and anesthesiologists are becoming aware that even when the patient is totally unconscious from the anesthesia and unable to “hear” technically, the slow, steady, pulsing of certain classical music can entrain or synchronize the person’s heartrate and breathing so that they stay more relaxed on the operating table with less anesthesia. Because they require less anesthesia to stay asleep, they awaken sooner and with less nausea, dizziness, “brain fog” and recover faster!

When the patient recovers faster, they are discharged from the hospital sooner, with fewer side effects, they get back to work and back to the lives sooner and the hospital can process more patients in one 24 hour period. So what’s the downside? We haven’t found anything yet.

Yes, you can create your own playlist of your favorite slow, steady music and download it to your own iPod to take into surgery….or you can get these really amazing lightweight, cordless headphones that have a built-in MP3 player, already loaded with “Surgical Serenity” music! Your choice! Click on the picture of the headphones or go to www.SurgicalHeadphones.com to learn more. You can also contact me at DrAlice@surgicalheadphones.com. Best wishes on your surgery.

Classical music could become a routine part of surgery, after a study found it helped to relax patients under local anaesthetic.

Surgeons believe playing a little knife music might benefit patients so much that they recover sooner from their operations.

Mozart was not actually one of the composers that those in the study got to hear. However, they were offered equally soothing pieces by Beethoven, Vivaldi and Bach.

Frank Sinatra was also on hand for those who preferred some easy listening during the operations, which included washing out major wounds.

Hazim Sadideen, the plastic surgeon who led the project at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, said: “Undergoing surgery can be a stressful experience for patients and finding ways of making them more comfortable should be our goal as clinicians.

“There are also good medical reasons – calmer patients may cope better with pain and recover quicker.

“This small scale work is the first time an attempt has been made to measure the impact music has in this specific group of patients and hints at the need for bigger multi-centre research to establish whether this should become part of standard practice.”

In the study, published in the journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons, 96 patients undergoing minor surgery were randomly assigned either music or silence. All were awake during their procedures, which included routine removal of skin lesions and cleansing of upper limb wounds after accidents.

The half played music reported lower anxiety levels and lower breathing rates than the others.

The medics did not evaluate whether Beethoven was better for patients than Bach.

Having surgery is a dangerous thing, but sometimes not having surgery is more dangerous. If you’ve been told that you need to have surgery, there are certain risks you will want to be aware of:

Anesthesia reactions:

Most problems that arise during surgery are the result of the surgery, not the sedation for the procedure. While uncommon, there are very serious complications that can occur if a patient has a reaction to the anesthesia drugs.

Most problems associated with anesthesia are related to the process of intubation, or inserting the breathing tube. Aspiration, or breathing food or fluid into the lungs, can be a problem, during surgery. Some patients also experience an increased heart rate or elevated blood pressure during the process.

How can music help? When patients have begun relaxing before their procedure with slow, familiar, favorite music, it is only natural that their bodies and muscles are not as tense and therefore the patient can be put to sleep more easily and with less anesthesia. When the music is continued, through cordless headphones, througout the surgery, the patient’s body stays relaxed and music with a steady, slow pulse, synchronizes the heartrate and breathing. Again, because the body is staying relaxed with the slow, steady music, less anesthesia is needed and the patient wakes up soon, still listening to the music through headphones, and requires less pain medication.

Several studies are in process right now, around the U.S. and doctors, hospitals, and patients are quite excited about the possibilities of a safer and a kinder procedure. The headphones that I have programmed with the ideal music for surgery are available now and can be overnighted to you if you need them quickly. If you have financial constraints, let me know and I will work with you to be able to get them. One day, music and headphones will be available in hospitals around the world. Don’t wait!